Singapore stocks climb amid Asian equities rebound; STI up 0.7%

[SINGAPORE] Singapore stocks rose on Thursday (Mar 5), as Asian equities rebounded after a three-day rout sparked by the Middle East war.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rose 0.7 per cent or 33.81 points to finish at 4,846.56.

Across the wider Singapore market, gainers outperformed losers 376 to 231, after 1.7 billion securities worth S$2.6 billion changed hands.

The biggest gainer among the blue-chip index constituents was defence contractor ST Engineering , which rose 4.4 per cent or S$0.46 to S$10.84.

The worst performer on the STI was Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , which retreated 1.4 per cent or S$0.06 to S$4.22.

The trio of local banks saw mixed performance. DBS rose 0.2 per cent or S$0.12 to S$55.12 and UOB added 0.5 per cent or S$0.18 to finish at S$36.01. OCBC fell 0.3 per cent or S$0.06 to S$20.84.

“Animal spirits are making a comeback on Wall Street as developments in Washington and Teheran raise the chances of peace being reached sooner rather than later,” said Interactive Brokers’ senior economist Jose Torres.

He added: “Stocks are rallying broadly as market enthusiasm rebounds, prompting participants to chase risk assets.”

Key regional indices all finished higher. South Korea’s Kospi surged 9.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.9 per cent, and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 0.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index fell 2.3 per cent or 34.21 points to 1,440.24.

China Aviation Oil was the biggest gainer among the index constituents, climbing 6.2 per cent or S$0.11 to S$1.88.

Yanlord Land was the biggest loser, falling 2.3 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.64.